by Timothy A. Raimey, Jr., Esq.

The Fraud and Compliance Unit, known as the Enforcement Division of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation, is tasked with investigating fraud and non-compliance of the Workers’ Compensation Act. The Enforcement Unit’s investigations include, but are not limited to, instances of staged work accidents, faked or exaggerated injuries, application fraud, working while receiving benefits, false testimony under oath and identity theft. The Enforcement Unit also investigates non-compliance on the part of employers and insurers, such as having no workers’ compensation coverage, premium fraud, false certificates of insurance and insurance agent/agency fraud.

Anyone can file a Workers’ Compensation Fraud & Non-Compliance Reporting Form, and should do so whenever fraud or non-compliance is suspected. The Board also has a “Stop Fraud” poster an employer can post next to the panel of physicians. The poster may encourage an employee who may not otherwise be comfortable doing so to anonymously report fraudulent claimants and therefore potentially save his employer thousands of dollars.